


Fantasy Life

by Rose0Jam



Series: Dream Sequences [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24464572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose0Jam/pseuds/Rose0Jam
Summary: A collection of drabbles, one-shots and ficlettes based on my main story, Dream Sequence.Hey fam.  I've been struggling with some hardcore writers block for my main story, Dream Sequence.  In an attempt to combat it, I decided that composing some drabbles might be a good writing exercise to get me back into things.  These are inspired by writing prompts sent in by my readers over on Tumblr.If you haven't read Dream Sequence, you'll probably still enjoy these.  Just know that the "reader" character is played by my OC, Gwendolyn Goode.If you have read Dream Sequence, don't consider these drabbles to be exclusively canon or anything.  They take place in a bubble AU within the same universe I built for DS.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s), Severus Snape/Reader
Series: Dream Sequences [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1498598
Comments: 12
Kudos: 33





	1. "Can we please stop running?"

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Prompt: "Can we please stop running? I think I'm dying."

Your heart was throbbing in your throat, the rapid pulse of blood sending adrenaline coursing through your veins. The night air was cold and sharp in your laboring lungs, and the sweat beading on your face felt like it was freezing to your ruddy skin. Frosted grass crunched under your feet, and the full moon overhead was bright enough to cast a shadow on the ground as you ran through the darkness. The sound of rapid footfalls from behind were gaining on you. Even over the pounding of your heart in your ears, you could hear raged breathing over your shoulder, but you couldn’t spare a moment to look back. It only made you pump your legs harder, move faster, feet pounding into the ground as you ran. It was only when you felt the brutal clutch of a hand around your bicep that you looked behind you…

“ **Can we _please_ stop running**?” Severus gasped, and you tried not to laugh out loud as you finally started to slow down. He only released your arm when you finally came to a stop, and he doubled over with his hands on his knees as he struggled to get air into his lungs. “ **I think I’m dying** ,” he panted, clutching at his chest, and this time you _did_ laugh, rubbing your hand over his back as you tried to calm your own breathing.

“You’re fiiiine,” you insisted, but a sudden, wheezing coughing fit had you a _little_ concerned. You smiled piteously as you slipped your wand out from kangaroo pouch of your hoodie, using it to _Accio_ your gym bag from the other side of the Quidditch pitch. When you’d fished out a sports bottle and a spare towel, Severus had snatched both from you before finally succumbing to his exhaustion, falling back on his arse onto the ground as he guzzled the water greedily. You sighed between soft panting, still smiling down at him with your hands on your hips. What were you going to do with him?

“You do this _every_ night?” he asked once he’d finally managed to regulate his breathing, rubbing the towel over his dripping face, the few strands of black hair not captured by his pony tail sticking to his forehead. There were dark, wet patches on his own black sweatshirt, and you weren’t sure you’d _ever_ seen him so red-faced and sweaty. The sight undoubtedly conjured up _certain images_ , but even lovemaking wasn’t _typically_ quite as strenuous as running laps, you supposed. 

“I try to,” you confirmed, finally accepting that he wasn’t going to get back up, so you slid down to sit beside him on the grass. Stretching your legs out in front of you, you bent over to touch the toes of your grubby trainers, enjoying the dull ache on the back of your thighs. “As long as it isn’t raining. How do you think I maintain such a cute butt?” you asked, surreptitiously peering over your shoulder to see if he was looking. 

Which he was, and you smirked as he reluctantly pulled his eyes away from your backside, the flush on his face not fading in the slightest. Mission accomplished. “Cute as it may be,” he relented, and you chuckled as you sat back up beside him. “Why do you have to do it at _night_?”

Ah, so there it was. You hadn’t exactly been keeping it a secret from him, but your absences in the evenings, typically right after lights out for the students, had finally been noticed by your ever observant partner. When you’d explained that you were just running a few laps around the pitch after dark, he’d been rather insistent upon joining you. You had been dubious if he was really up for it, but he had been quite adamant. He’d even procured muggle clothing for the outing, which was simultaneously endearing, and hilarious, because you were certain that the sweatpants and shirt that he’d come up with had been used exclusively for doing the opposite of exercising before now. 

“When else would you have me do it?” you enquired, leaning back on your hands and staring up at the starry sky overhead. “The Ravenclaw’s are out here for practice damn near every morning at dawn. Not that I would even _contemplate_ getting up that early anyway.” You saw him roll his eyes out of the corner of your own, and you smirked as you flopped backwards, grabbing his collar to bring him a long with you. He yelped, shooting you a glare over his shoulder, but he reluctantly followed suit, laying back on the freshly trimmed grass. The moon and stars overhead gleamed brightly in the azure tinted void, and you sighted contently. 

“Besides, it’s cooler at night. And quiet. I can actually hear myself _think_ when I’m out here.” You glanced over at him, and you were pleased to see his face returning to its usual pale shade in the cool night air. He sighed heavily through his nose, his breathing finally back to normal as he lay beside you. But you could tell he was still troubled. “I can take care of myself, Severus,” you assured him quietly, scooting closer beside him and lacing your fingers through his. He answered the touch by squeezing your hand in return.

“I know you can,” he murmured, though there was a hint of guilt in the admission. “I never meant to imply that you couldn’t. I just…” He trailed off, and you smiled a little as you gazed over his profile, before rolling onto your side to press a kiss against his shoulder. He was too protective for his own good, you knew. He was just trying to look out for you, like he always did. But it was clear that actually _joining_ you was not really going to be on the table, if he could barely keep up for two laps. 

“You could watch me from the stands,” you suggested lightly, and you saw one of his eyebrows shift, though he kept his eyes on the sky overhead. You smirked, and rolled over further, hooking one of your legs over his and pushing yourself up onto one arm to look down at him. He stared up at you in bewilderment as you waggled your own eyebrows suggestively. “You know, make sure I maintain my…” You wiggled your hips against his, and you saw a little color return to his face. “ _Good form_.” 

Severus rolled his eyes with a loud snort, and you burst into squealing giggles and he feigned trying to push you off of him. You clung on tightly, refusing to let go even as your legs ached from the effort, before he finally joined you in your mirth. 


	2. “Is that blood?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Prompt: “Is that blood?” “…No?”
> 
> WARNING for blood, wounds, fear, angst, etc.

You sucked in a sharp breath as you opened your eyes, your heart beating rapidly from the sudden jolt of fear that overwhelmed you. Something had startled you awake. A loud noise from… somewhere. It had sounded a bang. Something big hitting something hard. But your eyes registered little in the darkness of the room. You knew you should just grab your wand from the bedside table, to cast a Lumos charm to check and see… But you were frozen to the spot. You couldn’t bring yourself to move. Fear had you locked in place, because your mind was teaming with monsters, and you were afraid if you turned on a light, you would _see them_ -

A creak from below. The sound of heavy footfalls on old, wooden stairs. Your heart started up again, but your eyes had finally adjusted to see the faint glow of the streetlamps through the yellowed venetian blinds. Your hand struck out from under the sheets, grabbing your wand and pulling it back under the covers, clutching it to your chest. You weren’t facing the door… You should turn over to face the… no wait… no you didn’t want to see… _you didn’t want to be seen_. 

The door opened with a rusty whimper, and you closed your eyes again. At least you were still bundled up under the blankets for once. You hadn’t thrown them off from the heat. You tried to breathe slowly, evenly, counting the breaths… you were sleeping… sleeping… Your heart was pounding and you hoped it wasn’t someone who could hear. You hoped it wasn’t _Greyba_ -

Footsteps entered the room… but they weren’t quiet. Weren’t sneaky. And they didn’t approach the bed. They stumbled, scraped over the worn wooden floor, into the bathroom. You heard clicking, and then buzzing, the sound of florescent lights flickering to life. A heavy _fwump_ of fabric… a cloak falling to the floor… A clatter of expensive porcelain on cheap terrazzo.

You finally opened your eyes again, the light flooding from the bathroom illuminating the bedroom you shared with Severus on Spinners End. ( _The bedroom his parents had once shared_ …) You hadn’t gotten used to sleeping here yet. Severus didn’t want you staying around too often. It was better if you were seen as just… a casual girlfriend. Nothing too serious. No one really important. That was the story you were supposed to go with, if you happened to cross paths with any of his more… unsavory acquaintances. There was always a chance someone might just stop in unannounced. This hadn’t been the first time you’d woken up, confused as to where you were. 

But this _had_ been the first time you’d been visiting him… and he’d been called away. 

The contingency plan was simple; stay put. His home wasn’t connected to the Floo Network, and it wasn’t safe to Apparate. Any time you came to visit him, you had to Apparate in several blocks away and he would be there to escort you, because he was certain that the direct vicinity of his home was being monitored. If you were to leave… to walk to the Apparation point… it was too risky. It was safer to just stay where you were. The wards would keep you safe. And that’s exactly what you had done.

He’d been gone for _two days_.

The shower sputtered to life with a groan, and you finally felt like you could move. Pushing back the blankets, you gently slipped off of the bed, snagging his green plaid dressing gown from the corner poster and pulling it on over the t-shirt you wore. You placed your wand into one of the deep pockets. As you tied the belt around your waist, you padded around the bed, your bare feet sticking to the wood floor as you made your way to the bathroom.

Severus was seated on the closed lid of the toilet, his black robes a heap on the bathroom floor, his remaining clothes strewn over them haphazardly. He was completely bare, and you could see dark bruises blossoming over his ribs, his back, his thighs. You would need healing balm. You knew he had some in the medicine cabinet. He had his elbows on his knees, and his head propped up with his fingers, and though his face was obscured by a curtain of greasy hair, you could see in the stark, unforgiving light that he was trembling. 

And you could also see… on the counter…

The mask might have been beautiful, if it hadn’t also been so ghastly. It was vision of Venetian porcelain, embellished with deep, swirling grooves in a symmetrical pattern. But that’s where its beauty ended. The mouth was marred by spade shaped slits, and the eyes were dark, sunken gashes, narrowed in malice. You knew that they wore masks, but you had never seen his before. Had never wanted to see it. And seeing it now made you queasy with dread; its pristine white surface was stained with dark red smudges. And… And it looked like… _like_ …

“ **Is that blood?** ”

Your hand flew to your mouth, and you bit your bottom lip behind it. You hadn’t meant to say it. That shouldn’t have been the first thing you said, after he was gone for two days. After he was clearly so… so _distraught_. You should… should be comforting him. Bathing him. Caring for him. _Something_. But instead you were rooted in place, frozen to the spot once again with fear coursing through you.

Severus finally lifted his head from his hands, but he didn’t look around at you. He seemed to stare into his hands for a long moment first, before turning slowly towards the counter, towards the mask. There was a bewilderment on his exhausted face, and he shook his head minutely, as if he wasn’t quite sure of what he was seeing. “ **…No?** ” he croaked, and the sound pierced you, both with pity, and with alarm. Pity for the deep suffering in his voice, and alarm from the blatant denial. 

You stood there in the entrance to the bathroom, shaking you head like he had, not understanding what you were seeing, hearing. “Severus, that’s _blood_ ,” you whimpered, tears already welling up behind your eyes, constricting your throat. “What happened? Why is there blood-d? What did you d-d…” Your words tapered off as your clamped your eyes shut, holding your hands over your face, not wanting to see. Not wanting to know.

This was the risk that you took. You knew whose side he was on, but this was the risk that you had to take, to be with him. You knew it could fall apart at any moment, and you’d promised him that you were willing to accept that. But now that you were faced with it… he’d been gone for _two days_. What had he been doing for _two fucking_ _days_?

“It’s mine,” came his whisper, from close in front of you now. You felt gentle hands wrap around your wrists, and you whimpered as he pulled them away from your face. “It’s _my_ blood, Gwen,” he avowed, and you knew… he would never… never lie to you. You opened your eyes, and peered down at his hands. There was blood ringed around your wrists from where he held them, and when he pulled away, you could see lines cut into his palms. Deep, swirling grooves, against pristine, white porcelain. They weren’t defensive wounds. They weren’t a mistake. They had been placed there with _purpose_ … By someone other than Severus.

The tears in your eyes finally started to fall as you took his hands in yours, turning the palms up carefully. They weren’t cursed. You knew that much by the way he’d willingly touched you with them. But they were still open. Still bleeding. Despite your sniffles, you knew what you had to do now. What you should have done from the beginning. Comfort him. Care for him. He had taught you a spell once for mending wounds, a spell that sounded like a song. You would use it after you cleaned them. He already had blood replenishers. You would have to brew a scar balm. You had stayed put, for two days. And you had taken the risk of everything falling apart, so that you could be here for him when he came home.


End file.
